LA holds off on medical pot amendment

LOS ANGELES 
A vote on a revised medical marijuana ordinance that aims to ease tough new regulations on Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries could take place as early as next week.

The City Council was expected to vote Wednesday on an amendment that would allow up to 140 pot dispensaries to remain open, but took no action.

An ordinance passed earlier this year would have shut down roughly 400 dispensaries around Los Angeles. Clinics ordered to close have filed dozens of lawsuits.

About 180 of the dispensaries applied in June to remain open, saying they complied with the ordinance's key requirement of registering with the city before a 2007 moratorium went into effect. Of the 180, only about 40 met all the criteria.

In a related action, the Los Angeles Times reported that the council decided to give dispensary operators an extra six months to fully comply with the rest of the provisions of the city's ordinance.

Approved dispensaries were supposed to comply with the provisions by Dec. 4, including a rule that says they must be more than 1,000 feet from schools, parks and other sensitive sites.

The council also eliminated a controversial requirement that said dispensaries must have the same managers as they had three years ago when they registered with the city clerk. Many managers have since changed, or new ones have been added. The council replaced the rule with a provision meant to ensure that at least one of the original owners is still involved in running the dispensary.